Indian shares snap four-day losing streak; lenders recover

Source :

Last Updated: Thu, Aug 30, 2012 11:50 hrs

* BSE rises 0.3 pct; NSE rises 0.5 pct

* Nifty finds support at 50-day moving average

* GDP on Fri key for near term direction

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on Thursday
for the first session in five as lenders such as ICICI Bank rose
after steep recent falls, although caution still prevailed ahead
of key economic growth data.

Investors will scrutinise April-June gross domestic product
data out on Friday, given concerns that India's economy is
slowing sharply even as inflationary pressures remain, making
the prospect of monetary action uncertain.

A Reuters poll of 38 economists forecast growth of
5.3 percent for the April-June quarter, unchanged from
January-March quarter and marking its slowest growth since 2009.

Still, technical analysts were at least comforted the NSE
index's recent support held firm at the 50-day moving
average.

"A weak GDP numbers is already priced in, and it should
force RBI and government to act," said A.K. Prabhakar, senior
vice president of equity research at Anand Rathi Financial
Services, referring to Reserve Bank of India.

"If Nifty holds to 5,250-5,220, which is closer to its
50-day moving average on sustainable basis, then 5,500 is
possible in the coming month."

India's benchmark BSE index rose 0.29 percent to
17,541.64 points, after declining a total of 2 percent over the
previous four sessions.

The 50-share NSE index rose 0.52 percent to 5,315.05
points, closing above the 50-day moving average at 5,255.74
points, which has largely provide support since mid-June.

Trading was volatile as August derivative contracts expired
at the end of the session.

However, Hero MotoCorp fell 1.4 percent after
Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to "neutral" from
"overweight", citing caution about the company's near-term
outlook in the domestic two-wheeler market.

Tech Mahindra Ltd slumped 5 percent after British
telecoms firm BT unloaded about a 5 percent stake in the
Indian IT service provider.

Tata Steel fell 2.3 percent while Jindal Steel and
Power fell 1.9 percent, extending recent sharp
declines on continued worries about the fallout from the
controversial coal concessions that has consumed parliament.
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